Abstract
Genesis 2 has often been interpreted in African contexts through frameworks shaped by missionary and colonial encounters, resulting in perceptions of the text as culturally distant from indigenous African worldviews. This study argued not that Genesis 2 is historically indigenous to Africa, but that its anthropological and ecological motifs exhibit significant points of resonance with certain African cosmological traditions. Drawing on the phenomenological and decolonial scholarship of Professor Umar Habila Danfulani, the study employed a comparative decolonial hermeneutic to examine selected themes in Genesis 2 alongside Berom creation traditions of Central Nigeria, focusing on humanity’s formation from the earth, the divine gift of life, and humanity’s relationship with the land. By exploring both convergences and divergences between the Yahwistic creation narrative and Berom cosmology, the study contended that some dualistic interpretations inherited from segments of Western theological tradition have tended to privilege spiritual realities over material and ecological dimensions, thereby obscuring aspects of Genesis 2 that emphasize humanity’s intimate connection with the earth, while also acknowledging the diversity of contemporary ecological and postcolonial biblical scholarship. The findings suggest that Genesis 2 presents a holistic anthropology in which human life is inseparable from the earth from which it originates and upon which it depends, revealing meaningful parallels with Berom understandings of land as a sacred locus of life, identity, and communal responsibility. These resonances provide constructive resources for African theological reflection and environmental ethics without collapsing the distinctions between the biblical and indigenous traditions. The study concludes that a decolonial, context-sensitive reading of Genesis 2 can contribute to the development of African eco-theologies that promote environmental stewardship, cultural self-understanding, and spiritually grounded responses to contemporary ecological challenges.
Keywords: Genesis 2, Berom Cosmology, Umar Habila Danfulani, Comparative Decolonial Hermeneutics
Authors:
Dike, Uzoma Amos (PhD)
National Open University of Nigeria, Abuja
+2348036982770, udike@noun.edu.ng